Flying-machine.



- No. 850,616. PATENTED APR. 16, 1907.

A. P. BLIVIEZN. FLYING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILEIS DEO.17, 1906. 2 SHE'ETs SHE'ET L PATENTED APR. 16,1907] A. 1 BLIVEN. FLYING MACHINE,

0 APPLICATION FILED DEU.17, 1906.

H2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

v [NYE/(T00 J/Mzo REM e 71 I I A-rra mys wmvzssss "Uisirrian STATESPATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO, P. BLIYEN, OF BRooIELYN, NEW YORK.

FLYING-MACHINE.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16, 1907.

Application filed December 17, 1906. Serial No. 348,805.

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Be it known that l, ALONZO P. BLIVEN, a citizen of the United States,and residing at Brooklyn, in thecounty ofdiings and State ject being toprovide a flying-machinewhich involves an oblong tapered gas balloon orreceptacle which constitutes the chief carrying power and which isprovided with or from which is suspended a casing having an engine-room,a saloon, a-ballast-cliainbergyf and illuminating-gas tanks, togetherwith propellers, steering or guiding devices, and other featuresnecessary in the construction and operation of a practical machine ofthis class and with these and other objects in view the inventionconsists in a machine of the class specilied constructed as hereinafterdescribed and claimed. i

The invention is'fully disclosed in the following specilication, ofwhich the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate partsof my improvement are desighated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a sectional side view of myimproved llying-n'iachine; Fig. 2, a bottom plan view thereof; Fig. 3, afront end view; Fig. -l, a plan view of a valve device employed inconnection with a balloon or gascontainer,- Fig. 5, a vertical sectionon the line 5 5 01 Fig. l and showing means for operating one of thesteering devices which I employ; Fig. 0, a side view,lon an enlargedscale, of one of the propellers with which the sides of the balloon orgas-container are provided; Fig. 7, an end view thereof looking in thedirection of the arrow 9/: in Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a partial section on theline 8 8 of Fig. 6, and Fig. 9 a sectional plan view showing means foroperating another steering device. In the practice of my invention, 1provide a balloon or gas-container a, which is tapered at both ends andthe top portion of which,

stantially semicircular in cross-section, while the bottom side portionsthereof are prefer ablytapered inwardly in cross-section and providedwith a depending longitudinal-lyarranged casing 'tainer a is composed ofa main outer shell of The balloon or gas-com as shown in the drawings,is preferably sub- 5 aluminium or aluminium alloy constructed in anydesired manner and an inner bag or gas-receiver a, composed of silkorother suitable flexible material and of the same general shape Tas'themain outer casinga,

While the casing I), connected withor suspended froin the main outercasing a, is also composed of aluminium or aluminium alloy constructedmany desiredmanner so as to give the desired strength; but fibrous orother material may be usedin the combination of the balloon-casing andeasing b.

At any suitable point in the main outer casing a of the balloon orgas-containeris' a manhole at, through which thebag a may.

be passed, and the bag a is provided with a corresponding vlillve devicea, through which said bag may be filled with hydrogen gas, and the mainouter casing 11 of the balloon or gas-container is also provided atan'ysuitable point, preferably at the top thereof, with i valves (1, of anypreferred construction, and' one of which s shown in Fig. 4, and whichmay be manipulated by-means of cords a,

so as to release. the air from the mainyouter casing a of the balloonor'gas-container when the bag a therein is beinginflated The casing b atthe bottom of the balloon or gas-container contains a central engineroom I; asaloon b aballasL-chamber b and engine-room b is an engine 0,preferably operated by gas from the tank I), and said engine roomalsocontains an electrical generator c for operating a search-light c or forany other -,an illuminating-gas tank If, and within the f propeller dand a rear propeller (l and the.

propellenshaft d is geared in connection with thepower-shaft of theenginec by means of a drive-chain d 1 At the opposite sides of the mainbody of the balloon or gas-container are mounted supplemental,propeller-shafts e, the front ends oiwhieh are supported in brackets eby means of ball-and-socket joints e por similar constructions, and therear ends or wh ch are mountedhin bearing-blocks e slidably connectedwith segmental supports e secured in a vertical position to the mainbody of the balloon or gas-container, as are also the bracket-supports cand connected with the loon or gas-container and carried into the saloonb, from which they may be operated for the purpose of raising andlowering the rear ends of the propeller-shaftse, and said.propeller-shafts e are geared in connection with. the power-shaft oftheengine c by means of drive chains or belts e and correspondingwheels'at e on said shafts, v

'Thepro'peller-shafts e are provided with propellers f, and b means ofthe construction of the said shafts and method of supporting the same asherein described the rear ends of said shafts may be raised or loweredwhen desired, and the operation of the propellers f may thus be made tohelp in steering or raising and lowering the flying-machine as well asin the propulsion of said machine.

At thelrear end of the balloon or gas-container is a rudder orsteering'device g, comprising four wings or blades connected with ashaft g extending into the rear end of the mam outer casing of theballoon or gas-container and supported. by a ball-arid-socket coupling9, and the inner end of said shaft is provided with pulleys g*, asclearly shown in 7 Figs. 1 and 5 and over each of which is passed a cord9 secured at g to the inner side of the main outer casing of thevballoon or gas-com tainer, and said cords are passed outwardly throughsaid casing and over pulleys g and are passed through suitable keepersor eyes g securcdto the main outer casing of the balloon orgas-container and carried forwardly and passed through other keepers oreyes g over the saloon b, from which point they are carried downwardlyinto said saloon and may .be operated to'control the rudder or steeringdevice 9 in any desired manner.

At the rear end of the casing bis a rudder. 7t, having a tiller-arm hfwhich passes into the rear end of the casing a and with which areconnected cords 7t,-as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 9, and said cordsare carried forwardly over the gas-tank b and through the top of theengine-room 1) into the saloon b, where they are connected with a drumM, by means of which the rudder it maybe operated in the usual manner. v

The valves e in the top of the main outer casing of the balloon orgas-container are preferably oi the ordinary register type, as shown inF ig. 4;, and are controlled by an arm i, with which is connected springi and the springs i normally-hold the valves a closed, and the cords aare'eonnected with thearms of said valves, and by pulling on said cordsthe valves maybe opened when desired.

Atthe point where the drive-chains c", which operate thepropeller-shafts 5,. downwardly around the bottom side por tions of themain outer casing of the balloon or container into the casing b arepreferably placed antifriction-rollers; as indicatel at j in Fig. 3 butthe transverse dimensions of the casing b and the main outer casirg oithe balloon or gas-container may be regulated. so as to render theseantifrictionroll- 'ers unnecessary. I

Arranged over the propeller-shaits e and propellers and longitudinallyof the main outer shell of'the balloon or gas-container are downwardlyand baclrwa-rdly inclined and transversely-curved vanes or wing members7e, which are preferably about one-fourth the total length of theballoon or gas-container and of a width equal to or slightly greaterthan the diameter of the propellers over which they are placed, andthese wings or vanes imp'art a lifting power by reason of theair-currents that are forced out behind the propellersfin the operationthereof.

'l rom the ioregoing description and accompanying drawings it will beseen that the body of the main outer casing of the balloon orgas-container is approximately cylindrical in form and is pointed atboth ends, and in practice its extreme length is about siix times itsgreatest diameter at the center, and the comparative length of thecasing a, which --eontains the engine-room, gas tanlr, and saloon, isabout onethird that of the balloon ,or gascontainer, or a little overone-third.

Although I have described the main outer shell or casing of the balloonorgas-container as composed of aluminium, liber board or, other hardwaterproof substance may be employed, andin cases where the balloon orcontainer is necessarily of great length the main outer casing or shellmay be provided with interior braces to give it the desired strength,and in this event a number of the gas-bags a may beeinployed, ifdesired.

It will be understood that the bag a is tilled with gas the air in themain outer casing of the balloon or gas-container expelled through thevalves a, and after the bag a is fully inflated the'said valves and themanhole a is closed, and any gas that may escape from the bag e isretained in themain outer shell or casing of the balloon orgas-container, and ifa numberof the bags o are employed a correspondingnumber of manholes will be necessary and corresponding means for fillingsaid bags. It will also be understood thatthe main outer shell or casingof the bal loon or gas-container is separated from the bottom casing bbya horizontal floor as shown in Fig. l,and there isno communicationbetween the casing b and the interior of the main outer shell or casingof the-balloon r gas-container. a

it will beobserved that the rear end of the balloon Orgas-cOntainerort'he mainouter shell thereof is provided with a chamber-m, into whichthe end of the shaft or the'rudder or steeringdevice gprojects, and thepulleys and cords by which sai'd'rudder or steering device isoperatedare. all located in saidchamber; v I The casing b is of the formofa' double-ended boat or barge, and the top side walls there of may beprovided forwardly of the gas-tank I 6 with any'desired DUIIIDGI orarrangement of WllltiOWS. 1 1 W ln the drawings form ng part Of thlSspec1- fication the arrangement of the casing b and terialhereinspecified a flying-machinelmay' -.te rs Patent, jise the variousparts thereof is about midway of the main balloon or gas-container, andby means'of this construction and arrangement the entire flying machineor apparatus- .is substant ally balanced, and m-practice means may beprovided in the casing b for carrying.

explosive material or other substances or articles for. use 1n poses.

'By the arrangement of propellers-and steering devicesherein' shown anddescribed complete control of the machine maybef obtained and thenecessary power 'fon pro-f pelling the same, and byemployin'gtheimabe-made in themanner described'that will be aslight orlighter than the air it displaces and the desired or necessary load ofpersons or material may be easily carriedto; any "desired height andretained'at a highal-t tude for a, number of days.- i

. Having'fully describedmy invention, what I claim'as" new, and desireto secure by Let 1. A flying-machine, comprising a ;main

balloon or'gas-container consisting of a casing tapereda tbothends {andsubstantially cylindrical in cross-section and provided at} the bottomthereof with a supplemental casingiwhich is of approximately one-thirdthe length thereof, said casing containing anengine-room,1a: saloon anda gae-tank, an

engine placed in the engine-room, a propeller- I shaft passingbetweenthe supplemental casing and "the main casing of the balloon or355 gas-container andjgeared in connection with said engine, andmeansfor guiding'or steering the fiying-machine.-.

l 2. vin a flying-machine; a balloon or gascontamer, comprising a. mamouter casing substantially cylindrical in GI0 SS+S6C131OI1 and taperedat both endsand provided with an ,interio'r-bag adapted to befilledwithgas,

Qsaid casing being provided with valves to I allow of-the'escape of airtherefrom and with, s

meansju for the bag therethrough, and

supplemental casing.

waror for any other purla said casing being also provided at the bot- Itom with a supplemental casing approximately one-third thelength thereofand contaming an'en'gine-room; a gas-tank and a saloon, an engine placedin the engine-room, a

main propeller-shaft passing longitudinally between the balloon orgas-container and the supplemental casing and geared in connectio'nrwithsaid engine, supplemental propeller-shafts mountedon the opposite sidesa of the "balloon. orgas-container and geared in connection with'saidengine, a main rudder connected with the rear end of the balloo n orgas-container,- means for; operating said rudder from thelsaloonofthesupple-v;

mental casing, a supplemental rudder c0115 'nected with the rear end ofthe supplemental casing, andmeans for operating said su'p plementalrudder from the saloon ofthe I 3. In a flying-machine, a balloon'or gascontainer, comprising a mam'outercasingv substantially cylindrical1n-cross-s ect1on"and tap'ered at both ends'and provided with aninterior bag adaptedto befilled-jwith gas, said casing being providedwith valves to al- .lowof the escape of air therefrom-and with Emeansforffilling'the, bag therethroug'h, and

- said casing being also provided at torn with j af jsirpplementalcasing approxi 'n1a-t ely one-third the length thereof and conthe bot-fta'ining an engine-room, agas-tank and a saloon, an engineplaced in theengine-room;

between the balloonor gas-container and'then; supplemental casing andgeared in connec tion' with saidengine, supplemental propeller 'nectionwith said epginaia main rudder connectedwith the rear endof the balloonor .a mainpropell-er-shaft passing longitudinally 4 "l shafts mounted ontheopposite'sides ofthe iballoon or gasecontainerand geared in *con-'gas co'ntainer, means for operating said r'udder from thesaloon of thesupplemental casing, a "supplemental rudder connected with the rear endof the supplemental casing,v and means for; operating said supplemental4 rudder from the saloon ofthe supplemental casing, the supplementalpropeller-shafts at theoppoSite sides of the balloon or gascontainerbeing provided with means whereby thefrear end thereof may be swung in avertical planefrom the saloon of'the supplemental casing.

4. In afflying-machine, a balloon or gas-- container, comprising a mainouter casing substantially cylindrical in cross-sectionland tapered atboth ends and provided with an interior bag adapted to be filled withgas,

: propeller means for operating said supplemental rud- 'dcr fromthes'aloon oi the supplemental casing, the supplem tal propeller-shafts atthe opposite s des of; no balloon or gascontamer being provided withmeans whereby the rear end thereof may be swung in a vertical plane fromthe saloon-of the supplemental casing, and the side of the mainballoonor gas-container being also provided with longitudinal wings or vanesmounted over the supplemental propellensha'l't-s and cxtendin goutwardly thereover.

5. A flying-machine, comprising'a balloon or gas-container composed oi amain outer casing substantially cylindrical in cross-section and taperedat both ends and provided with a manhole and" outlet-valves, a bagplaced in said main outericasing and adapted to beinflated through saidmanhole, said balloon or gas-container being provided with a bottomsupplemental casing which ranges longitudinally thereof and is separatedtherefrom and contains an engine-room, a gastank and a saloon, an engineplaced in the en glue-room, a main propcller shaft mountedlongitudinally between the balloon or gas-i container and thesupplemental casing and provided at its front end with a propeller andgeared in connection with said engine, supplemontal propeller-shaftsmounted on the opposite sides of the balloon or gas-container and gearedin connection with said eng ne, a

' fourblade rudder mounted in the rear end of the balloon or gas-contaner and having a swivel-support, means for operating said ruddcrl'romthe saloon of the supplemental casing, a supplemental rudder connectedwith engine laced in said room ro ellersat the" sides the balloon bodyand at the opposite ends of sa d supplemental casing and gearedv inconnection with said engine, rudders at the rear end ofthe balloon-bodyand the rear and of the supplemental casing, and'mean's for operatingsaid rudders from the supplemental casing. g

'7. A; flying-machine, compris ng a mam balloon-body, having a rigidcasing and adapted to be inflated, a supplemental casingjsuspendedlongitudinally of the bottom of the balloon member, an engineplaced in said "supplemental casing, a-main propeller-shaft. arrangedlongitudinally ofthe bottom of then'ia-i'n'bltlloon member and geared inoonnec tion with said engine, and'supplementalpropeller-shafts at theopposite sides of the main balloon member and geared in connection withsaid engine and ad'aptedto swing in vertical planes. p 8. Aflying-machine, comprising a imam balloon memberoonipo'sedoi a'main'casing approximately cylindrical in cross-section and tapered at bothends andhaving an inflatable bag, a supplcmental'casing suspendedlongitudinally of thebottom of the balloon member, an engineplaced insaid supplc mental casing, a main-p1'opellershaft arrangedlongitudinally of thebottom of the main balloon member and geared inconnec. tion with said engine, andsu-pplemental propeller-shafts. at theopposite sidesof the main balloon, member and geared in connectionwrtlisaid engine and adaptedto swing'in ver-;

tical planes. 4.

9. A flying-machine, comprising a main balloon member composed of a maincasing approximately cylindrical in cross-section and tapered'atbothends and having'an inflatable bag, a supplemental casing suspendedlongitudinally of the bottom of the balloon member, an engine placed insaid supplemental casing, a. main propeller-shaft arrangedlongitudinally of the bottom of the main balloon member and geared inconnection with said engine, and supplemental propeller-shafts at theopposite sides of the main I balloon member and geared in connectionwith said engine and adapted to swing in Ver tical planes, saidsupplemental propellershal'ts being provided with longitudinallyarrangedand inclined shields which are placed thereoverj I In testimony that-Iclaim the foregoing as my invention 1 have'signedany name, in pres-'ence of the subscribing'witnessos, this 14th day-of December, 1906;

ALON ZO PBLIVEN; if Witnesses:

-C. E. MU R A Y, ,ALBERT W, Grass.-

